An early Thanksgiving at Pinelands

Ocean County VOTEC students prepared 200 meals

Nov. 22, 2012

Pinelands Regional Junior High School teachers Renee Furrer (left) and Sarah Skolsky look over a tray of cupcakes made in the shape of turkeys during Wednesday's Thanksgiving meal. / Bob Vosseller/Staff photo

Tuckertonturkey.jpg STAFF PHOTO/BOB VOSSELLER Ocean County Vocational Technical School Culinary Arts students Jerome Montalbano, 18, left and Jerry Jacobs, 18, serve 200 Thanksgiving meals to students of the Pinelands Regional Junior High School Wednesday afternoon.

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TUCKERTON — An early Thanksgiving meal was enjoyed by about 200 people at Pinelands Junior High School with the help of the teachers and students of the Ocean County Vocational Technical School.

Pinelands Junior High School seventh-grade teacher Jennifer Suralik was the coordinator of the Wednesday afternoon feast, which involved feeding students, parents and staff in the school’s multipurpose room.

“We hadn’t done anything like this in quite awhile. In years past, we held a Thanksgiving breakfast but we thought we’d bring it back this year,” Suralik said.

The VOTEC’s Chef Instructor Ian Smith came to the school with three of the 15 adult secondary culinary arts students of the Lakehurst Center who prepared the meal. Smith and his students served up turkey, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes and a variety of desserts.

“Many of the students here were affected by the (superstorm Sandy), and not to single them out, they are being fed as a group so everyone could celebrate Thanksgiving together,’’ Smith said. “This also gives our students a chance to work in a real life environment of preparing hundreds of meals.’’

“This is such a great experience,’’ said culinary arts student Jerome Montalbano, 18.

He said his goal was to open up his own pizzeria some day.

Smith said people often forget that to provide a meal for so many people, you need “more food then you might first expect. Even with a 24-pound turkey, you are lucky to get to eat about 15 pounds of it.’’

“We provided about 500 meals for area church and organization programs within the last few days. It has really given our students some valuable experience,’’ Smith said.

Kathy Hurley was among the 14 teachers who helped coordinate the event.

“We invited parents to come in and join us and some of them brought desserts for the meal,’’ she said.

“In light of all that has happened in the last few weeks with the hurricane, what better way to have the kids, some of whom are still displaced, enjoy an early Thanksgiving dinner,’’ Hurley said. “The VOTEC students really came through for us.’’